India for domestic inquiry into accountability

Sri Lanka is undertaking two major initiatives ahead of the presentation of a war crimes report during the ongoing Geneva human rights sessions.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government wants the Geneva-based United Nations.

Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to back US-led proposal to enable the country to launch a comprehensive domestic inquiry into accountability issues.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s three-day visit to India will commence tomorrow (Sept.14). The government is confident of India throwing its weight behind the US led initiative.

On the eve of his departure for Geneva, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera expressed confidence of securing international support for the transformation of the country.

“I will be addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva to convey to the international community the great strides Sri Lanka has made since January 8 (the date of the last presidential election). I will also outline the government’s vision and plans for the future in the areas of reconciliation, accountability and human rights,” he told the Sunday Island.

Well informed sources said that India, even during the previous Rajapaksa administration, refrained from supporting an external investigation into accountability issues at the March 2014 Geneva session.

They said that an influential section of the four-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA), including its Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council retired SC judge C.V. Wigneswaran, had been pushing for an international inquiry on the basis of the report scheduled to submitted later this month.

They said that those who had been supportive of Eelam project in Sri Lanka were planning to launch protests during the premier’s Indian visit.

Sources said that EU countries in the 47 nation UNHRC too would support the US imitative. All EU countries voted for external investigation into accountability issues in Sri Lanka.

The previous government suffered consecutive defeats Geneva due to the US taking control of the strategy in the wake of European countries failing to move a successful resolution against Sri Lanka.

The military brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009 following a relentless offensive spanning two years and 10 months.

Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told The Sunday Island that that the TNA would act responsibly in spite of some expressing extremist views. Rajapakshe accompanied Samaraweera to Geneva.